Vegan Cheesesteak Stromboli

A few years ago, I had a little recipe exchange with a friend I had met online. She saw a picture from my bridal shower and saw that we had the same recipe basket, so we exchanged a few cards. I know she got my family's Blueberry Buckle recipe, and one of the recipes I got from her was for stromboli. I took note, because it was one of my husband's favorite things to order, but never got around to making it.

Now, of course, we are vegan, and I have recently made it a goal of mine to convert as many of those recipes that were given to me at my bridal shower into vegan recipes. A few weeks ago I thought I would try and veganize the stromboli. Easy and very unhealthy with Pillsbury canned pizza crust (I already said unhealthy, remember?), I bought Yves pepperoni, vegan cheese, veggies, and it never got made.

A few weeks ago I saw this product:

at the new Whole Foods I talked about earlier this week. By the way, I was very happy to hear that I was not the only one who was super excited about agave being on tap!!

Anyway, I was determined to make the picture on the front of the box. The caveat? I never buy bread like that. I just...don't. So that never got made either.

Today with my mind running wild due to the crazy weather that had been keeping us indoors, they came together and made a super delicious lunch that took less time than it would take you to wait in line at Pat's or Gino's for a cholesterol laden mess.

Vegan Cheesesteak Stromboli

1 can Pillsbury pizza crust

4 slices vegan cheese

1 package Protein Wise seitan, or another thinly sliced seitan or mock beef product

1 onion, sliced

cornmeal, for dusting

salt-free seasoning

This is as simple to make as that list of ingredients is:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Sautee an onion in a pan with non-stick spray. When golden and soft, add the seitan.

While the onion is cooking, sprinkle some cornmeal on a clean dry surface, and roll out the pizza dough, then cut into four rectangles.

Break up the cheese into slices and lay on dough, then mound the seitan and onion mixture in the middle of the dough.

Roll up, being sure to seal the ends, and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Lightly spray the tops of the stromboli with cooking spray, then sprinkle with salt-free seasoning (we used Mrs. Dash Chipotle seasoning).

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

We suggest dipping in ketchup.

Seriously, this is so good. Warm and familiar, cheesey and satisfying. You could clearly make it healthier by making your own whole wheat pizza dough, but then, if you're like me, you'll probably never get around to doing it.

We have had a TON of snow here, and its still going. I didn't have work today and we're already cancelled for tomorrow. Nick now has off until next week because of the holiday weekend. We're at our wits end a little, but I have had plenty of time to do some cooking and that I do love. What do you do when you're forced to stay home, for snow or for other reasons?

The Wholesomeness of Whole Foods

A brand new Whole Foods store opened near my job last month. There was already a Whole Foods just a few minutes from my apartment, but this one was huge, it was new, it was special. I had to go. And there I was on the opening day...

in. complete. awe.

It is gigantic, it has agave nectar and brown rice syrup on tap. There is a pub inside of it, and a prepared foods bar that rivals no other that I have seen.

That first day was kind of crazy, so I grabbed my favorite craving, the avocado sushi. But when I work full days I spend my lunch hour there, which is only once or twice a week...but I look forward to it all morning.

I have to tell you though, I feel a little guilty. It feels a little wrong, walking around this place which undeniably caters to vegans, and provides plenty of vegan options and products that are hard to find elsewhere; but also shamelessly supports the idea of the organic/humane/natural/grass-fed meat movement.

I know a lot of people who are into this movement. And I am not trying to offend any of them because I know many of them read my blog...and there are probably some who I don't even know read my blog. So my point, will be brief. Eating meat, no matter what kind, still perpetuates the demand for meat. I also know people who completely refuse to shop here altogether, and even protest it.

So what is a vegan to do? Whole Foods is so convenient, makes so easy to find vegan oddities, and frankly, has a delicious selection of prepared foods.

Vegan mac-and-cheese with maple mashed sweet potatoes and steamed veggies

Braised seitan with sage roasted veggies and squash, grilled asparagus, fennel orange salad, and steamed kale

It adequately filled our "junk food" craving this past weekend also:

Whole wheat pizza with LOTS of veggies

Raw macaroons. Yum.

For more information on the "humane meat myth", pop over here.

That being said, I am curious. What do you do? Even if you aren't vegan, I'm curious. I'm not a Whole Foods bunny, mainly because I think everyday things are too expensive, and I don't support their stance on meat. In fact, I am usually the first to suggest a local, non-chain, but there is only one around here, and it is painfully even more than Whole Foods. So I will buy things like umeboshi vinegar and vital wheat gluten; things I know I can't find at my grocery store.

I want to know your opinion. Vote!!

Wholly into Whole Foods?
	I do all my shopping at Whole Foods
	I don't live near a Whole Foods, but I would shop at one
	I buy select items there I can't buy elsewhere
	I refuse to shop at Whole Foods
	Other
pollcode.com free polls

Stay tuned for later this week! I'm going to celebrate my 100th follower with a giveaway!!

A Midweek Quickie

Welcome to Wednesday!! I'm more pumped than usual for it to be the weekend because my best friend is having a baby today. Right now, actually.

Anyway, its going to be a busy day for me. I have a "webinar" for my online classes this morning, and we have a jam-packed day at work. Plus, we are bringing home a kitten tonight! We've introduced kittens before, but this is my first time doing it just JUST my baby (Zoe - see sidebar!) and a new kitten. If anyone has advice on introducing kittens, I'm open to whatever I can get!

The point is, most days, I am too busy to cook when I get home. Leftover of my Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Portobellos was perfect last night when I got home. So today is just a little catch up of things that don't necessarily require their own special post.

First, we went to California Pizza Kitchen this past weekend. Vegan? Uh, no not really. But really, plenty of vegan options. They also changed their menu recently, all their soups are vegetarian, and they have a bunch of new salads on the menu that only need a minor adjustment to become not only vegan, but very delicious.

I had the Miso Salad. I honestly don't think I have ever enjoyed a salad quite this much. With edamame, avocado, daikon, little rice straws, and a wonderful miso dressing, this was so yummy.

I'm still thinking about it, it was that good. Its given me a new love for salads. I ordered it, of course, without the seafood, but also without the wontons strips, just because I don't like big crunchy bits on my salads (I don't like croutons either).

Second, anyone else digging the Clif seasonal flavors? I bought each of the three that were at my store.

This one, the Iced Gingerbread, was alright. Nothing spectacular. And I actually didn't like the Iced Pumpkin Pie at all. However, the Cranberry Orange Nut is completely amazing. By far my favorite Clif bar, ever.

I also had what can only be described as a kitchen fail this weekend ::hangs head in shame::. I tried making the Iraqi Beet Stew with Meatballs I saw posted here. It did not work. I should have just quit when I saw that my store only had teeny little beets.

The meatballs themselves were okay, and I have been eating the leftovers for lunch (hate to waste that seitan), and the beets are yummy, but the 'stew' part, the sauce, didn't work out and the rice, while pretty, was way too heavily spiced for me.

I've been mixing the rice with half plain brown rice to cut back on the spiciness. A disappointment.

Well, that's it for me today!! It'll be another day full of leftovers for me. Time for me to check into my webinar before getting ready for work.

In a Wrap or on a Bed

My husband loves things to be wrapped, sandwiched, covered with some sort of carbohydrate goodness. While I'm not afraid of carbs, I prefer that they be a separate entity (like muffins). So its become a trend that when I make tacos, or burritos, or anything that could be a wrap or sandwich, I end up eating it on a bed of greens.

Yesterday, our wrap vs. bed meal was BBQ Seitan Tacos.

This weekend I used this recipe for Seitan Cutlets.

I chopped up three cutlets and mixed with half an onion, sliced thin, and enough BBQ sauce to coat. I let it marinate while I cut up some avocado, tomato, and cilantro. After that, the seitan and onion went into a medium-hot pan coated with cooking spray, and it was covered, and cooked for about 15 minutes, stirring periodically (but not too often, so you get those nice brown spots).

Then the raging debate began.

On a wrap?

Or on a bed?

Then the debate ended because our mouths were too full. This was so easy and so yummy. Plus I had no idea how happy avocado makes my husband!

Anyone else for the wrap? Or the bed? I'm a supporter of greens wherever I can get them!

I am now off to a yoga class! We started at a new gym and I am quite pleased.

Brunch-tastic

Does anyone else feel like the blog world has been experiencing something of a slump? I know I’ve been feeling slumpy. I think because of the nice weather, the longer days, etc, you just don’t want to sit in front of the computer in a small dark room, packed floor to ceiling with boxes.

What do you mean your computer room doesn’t look like that? Mine does.

In fact, this picture is incredibly deceiving, it is never this light in there. Zoe loves it,

I do not. I know, most people have wireless, I haven’t gotten a chance to set it up. Mainly because we are hoping to move soon, which is another reason why we have all these still-packed boxes sitting around.

Now, contrary to when I personally am going through a bit of a slump, the kitchen has been quite productive. We’ve been making dinner most nights, and its been tasty as well.

The weekend before my husband came back from his trip to Washington state, I had a little Vegan Brunch extravaganza. Some favorites were the Buckwheat Waffles.

YUM! We got a waffle iron from a church sale a few weeks ago for $5. WORTH IT!! These were so good, and the perfect use of all the buckwheat flour I have. These were so light and fluffy, nice and moist inside, and had a nice nutty flavor from the buckwheat. They also freeze and re-toast perfectly. They somehow stay moist inside.

I also made the Italian Feast Sausages. I love vegan sausage. Its really hard to find a kind that I don’t like. I made a half batch because the whole batch doesn’t fit in my steamer basket, and I made them half-size, so that one sausage is a perfect little portion.

These are good for breakfast, these are good for lunch, these are good for dinner, and I suspect they’re probably awesome for brunch. They’ve got a nice hit of spice from the fennel and chili flakes. They’re good.

And I am hereby ending my blogging slump. At least until we move (which probably won't be for awhile still). Now go out and have some brunch!

Dairy-Free Macaroni and Cheese

Everyone has their own version, don't they?  I've tried my fair share.  When I was vegetarian, I used this Tofu Alfredo recipe a few times.  I really like Susan's Easy Macaroni & "Cheeze".  I've read countless other recipes, almost every vegan cookbook has a version and of course, many vegan blogs have them.

This is my dairy-free version of the oh-so-classic macaroni and cheese.  I'm not gonna call it "cheese" or "cheeze" or anything that implies that this isn't real cheese either, because I don't think that the dairy industry gets to hold the word cheese hostage.  At the very least, if you read VegNews, you'll see gourmet nut cheese either featured or mentioned in the past few issues.  Therefore, I suppose this is a nutritional yeast cheese sauce.  Or a pine nut cheese sauce.  Or whatever you want to call it, but I'm still calling it cheese!   

Anyway, I can't say this is completely my own.  But I've doctored it and combined little things from so many different recipes that I can at least post the recipe for it! 

Dairy-Free Macaroni and Cheese

2 oz whole wheat pasta (I used mini penne)

Cheese Sauce:

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp yellow mustard

2 tbsp pine nuts

1/2 tsp Bragg's (or soy sauce)

1/4 tsp miso

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp tumeric (you can use less, I just like it)

1 tbsp chickpea flour

a few grinds of fresh pepper

*optional, but included in my nutritional information*

1 cup frozen broccoli

1/8 log of Seitan O' Greatness

2 tbsp whole wheat panko breadcrumbs

1 tsp parsley

1/4 tsp curry powder

pinch cayenne

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

Recipe

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

2.  Boil water, add pasta, cook until not quite al dente.  

3.  Sautee onions and garlic in a pan coated with cooking spray.

4.  Add onions, garlic, and everything except the pasta, broccoli, and seitan, in a blender.  

5.  Cook broccoli 

6.  Sautee seitan in a pan coated with cooking spray until browned.    

7.  Mix together in a bowl:  Pasta, Cheese Sauce, Broccoli, Seitan.

8.  In a separate bowl, combine panko and all remaining "optional" spices.  

9.  In ramekins or an appropriately sized baking dish, put pasta mixture, then top with panko mixture.  Bake 15-20 minutes.

Serves 2

Nutrition Information:  331.0 Calories;  9.7g Total Fat;  1.0g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  977.4mf Sodium;  42.3g Carbohydrates;  10.2g Fiber;  24.5g Protein  

I like to finish things in the oven.  I like the crusty texture on top, and I like that it gives me time to do all the dishes so that I can eat with a clean kitchen!  Also, I have to tell you that, this is good...its really good.  But I think the best part is actually the broccoli, since it really soaks up all the sauce.  So I highly suggest using it, or even using more of it!

I had more fun in the kitchen today.  All of my food today was revolving around the plan to spend the next week gluten and sugar free.  Breakfast was pancakes!  I can't remember the last time I make pancakes, I was so excited.  I made Susan's Golden Spice Pancakes, omitting the cloves to add ground ginger, and using clementine zest instead of orange, because it is what I have.  I also pressed in some cranberries, and it was really yummy!  The recipe, as Susan has posted it is for 10 normal sized pancakes.  I didn't want to have batter left over (as I won't be eating it tomorrow), so I cut it by 1/5, to make 2 normal sized, or 4 small pancakes, as pictured.   

Cranberry Spice Pancakes

Nutrition Information for 2 small pancakes (with cranberries):  114.0 Calories;  0.5g Total Fat;  0.1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  277.0mf Sodium;  25.5g Carbohydrates;  3.9g Fiber;  3.9g Protein.

I topped this off with some maple syrup, some tofu scramble with green peppers and onions, and the zesting clementine!

Tomorrow is that start of a new workout cycle for me and I am very excited!  I will post it tomorrow, I'm not quite finished putting it together yet.  

Today's Cooking Song of the Day:  Ghost in Pencil - Sad Zombie      

ABC Stuffing

I was trying to come up titles and it was super long...Apple Barley Stuffing, Cranberry Barley Stuffing, Apple Curry Seitan, Apple Curry Barley Seitan Stuffing.  All the words started with A, B, C, S.  Hehe.  Hence the ABCs.  

So Hannah from BitterSweet gave a challenge a few days ago for barley stuffing.  I was too late posting it...that's what happen when you do everything at the last minute!  Anyway, I really like seitan and had been wanting to try it in a stuffing, so this was as good a reason as any to make it.  I'm not totally in love with the original Seitan O' Greatness recipe (although I love it baked, the texture and everything is great).  I made some substitutions, curry powder and sage (equal amounts) instead of paprika and allspice, apple butter instead of tomato paste, and a lot less pepper.  I also used some liquid smoke (only about 1 tsp) instead of the worcestershire, and added an extra tbsp of water.  

Apple Curry Seitan

ABC (Apple Barley Cranberry) Stuffing

The recipes goes something like this:

1 cup barley

2 tsp veggie bouillon (I use organic better than bouillon)

3 cups water

1/2 recipe Seitan O' Greatness (however you like it)

1 apple, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

4 stalks celery hearts, chopped

1/2 cup cranberries

1/2 cup sliced almonds  

1.5 tbsp olive oil

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 tbsp dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

(you may want to add more spices, I just kind of added until it was good).  

The directions are obviously pretty simple.  

1.  Cook the barley according to directions (btw, my barley says it takes 1 1/4 hours, and it never takes more than 45 minutes). 

2.  Soak cranberries in a bowl of water (not necessary, but I do it to wash off some of that sugar.)

3.  Preheat oven to 350.  

4.  In a large pan brown the onions and seitan.  

5.  Add apples, celery, and spices to pan until combined.  Adjust seasoning to taste.

6.  Throw everything into a big bowl, add olive oil and almonds, toss until well combined and looks pretty.  

7.  Add stuffing to a large baking dish, bake for 15 minutes, until warm and a little crispy on top. *I like my stuffing baked, you can definitely skip this step.    

I calculated the nutrition facts based on 6 servings.  But those cute little ramekins in the picture?  One serving fills two of them.  So you may want to consider it 12 servings...in which case you would just cut everything in half!

Nutrition Information:  342.1 Calories;  10.8g Fat;  1.1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  614.5mg Sodium;  46.0g Carbohydrates;  10.8g Fiber;  19.3g Protein

I have more pictures today!  

I've been having a really heavy breakfast the past few days, Muesli (from my [me]&Goji post, with blueberries with the HiLo cereal from my Shopping Trip on Monday.  So, I've been feeling pretty full by lunchtime and have been having salads.  Organic raspberries were on sale today so I made a big spinach salad. 

Raspberries, spinach, pepitas, and....well I don't know if you want to know what that is, haha.  It is actually the Tofu Whipped Topping from Joy of Vegan Baking.  Yeah, I know it sounds gross, but I swear it tasted good.  

Lastly, I don't know if I have mentioned, but I currently live with 5 cats.  Zoe, my cat, is to the right, but she has a bunch of compatriots in my parents' house.  Yesterday I took the cutest pictures of Zany, my brother's cat.  We found him abandoned outside of a hotel in Zainesville, OH.  We drove him all the way back to NY with us, and he is incredibly sweet. 

My parents are having the house painted, one of the places being the hall closet, so he curled himself up under some snow pants had been piled up!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in a week!  This month has been flying by for me.  

What's Brown and Gold and Yummy All Over?

If you've figured it out already good for you!  I think it is pretty easy to see that the gold is curry powder.  And the messiness of the brown is explained by it being grated chocolate.  So, what is brown and gold and curry and chocolate all over?  

The Savory Chocolate Seitan Pie from the new VegNews website is!  This was so delicious.  I used a half recipe of Seitan O' Greatness, and it came out like...yum.  The only modifications I made to the original recipe was that I didn't use any oil or margarine, and instead sauteed the seitan, onions, and carrots in cooking spray.  This honestly isn't an effort to cut back on fat, I welcome healthy fat in my diet, but in a heavier dish like this, it was just an effort to cut calories...and sometimes fat is the easiest place to cut calories.    

Nutrition Information:  404.8 Calories;  8.6g Fat;  3.0g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  703.1mg Sodium;  62.8g Carbohydrates;  10.0g Fiber;  27.2g Protein.

I did indeed cut this into four servings, and it was definitely a filling portion.  The chocolate was, of course, unsweetened, but it gave it a great rich flavor, and the curry gave it a nice subtle kick.  Very bold, very different, very good!  I have to admit I was a little nervous when I tasted it before putting it in the oven, but once everything was all cooked together...yum.  Have I said yum enough?  To top it all off, it's high in protein and fiber!  

Today was a very food-centric day for me.  Normally I go to the gym on my days off of school, but because of my eye bothering me on Monday, my schedule is off this week, which leaves me being extra busy on days that I have school and nothing to do on my days off.  So I went to a new grocery store, which was okay.  One of the guys stocking the shelves told me I should get laser eye surgery because my eyes were too pretty to be hiding behind glasses.  He told me they were...very brown.  That doesn't really sound like much of a compliment, does it?  Anyway, after that I went to a little natural foods store that my mom cut a 10% off coupon out of the paper for me.  It was really into tea and herbs.  I did find wheat berry though!  I had been wanting to try it for awhile.  They also had a lot of interesting homeopathic stuff and essential oils, but I wasn't in the market for it at the moment.  The best about this store though, was that it was in an area that I rarely go to.  In fact, I don't think I've been to this particular strip mall since I have been back at home (which has been over a year now).  Anyway, what used to be a Ground Round restaurant is now an Indian place!  So exciting!  We really don't have any ethnic food near me besides bad Mexican, so this totally made my day.  Now I need to talk someone into going with me.    

Anyway, today was also, admittedly, not a very creative day.  Everything I made was 100% completely borrowed.  I didn't even really modify anything.  Ah well, right?  At least everything was delicious...like this Pumpkin Rice Pudding from Vegan Mouse.  I left out the raisins, and I used brown rice, but it was still really good.  I highly suggest it.  

Nutrition Information:  251.3 Calories;  2.5g Fat;  0.6g Saturated Fat; 0.0mg Cholesterol;  16.5g Sodium;  52.6g Carbohydrates;  4.4g Fiber;  5.8g Protein.  

Today's Cooking Song of the Day:  Brainwascht - Ben Folds

Seitan, Apples, and Squash...twice

I love seitan.  I've only tried it a few times, but I love it.  Mainly for it's huge protein content.  It makes creating high-protein meals a no-brainer.  

Friday was my second attempt at making it myself.  I tried boiling it once, and results were not good.  I made the Seitan O' Greatness that's been floating around the internet for awhile.  I think it came out pretty well, although I think it needs a personal seasoning adjustment.  It was a place to start though!

I took the above log, put half of it in the freezer, and then set to using up some of the rest of it.  I thought it might go well with some acorn squash I had.  The first recipe I made up before going to a Halloween party on Friday night.  

Seitan and Apple Stuffed Squash

1/2 roasted acorn squash

1/2 apple

1/8 log of Seitan O' Greatness

1/4 cup chopped spinach

1/2 tsp brown mustard

1 tsp vegan mayo

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp brown sugar

salt & pepper to taste

cinnamon  

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2. Chop up the apples and seitan.  

3.  Whisk mustard, mayo, vinegar, and brown sugar, add salt and pepper to taste.  

4.  Stuff acorn squash, sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for around 10 minutes.  

As you can see in the picture, this made more than could fit in my 4" acorn squash, so I put it in another little bowl.  The seitan is a tad spicy for my taste.  Not bad, just wasn't what I was looking for.

Nutrition Facts:  313.9 Calories;  4.3g Fat;  0.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  751.4mg Sodium;  53.0g Carbohydrates;  10.7g Fiber;  24.9g Protein.  

The second recipe I made last night.  It isn't as pretty, but it was quite tasty. 

Roasted Acorn Squash with Seitan and Apples

1/2 roasted acorn squash

1/2 apple

1/8 log Seitan O' Greatness

1/4 cup pepitas

cinnamon

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  

2.  Line baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Slice apples and seitan , then place on sheet, spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake approximately 10 minutes, or until it starts to smell good.  

3.  Plate, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.  Eat.  

I'm not kidding myself, I realize that these are pretty similar dishes, I just liked the combo of the seitan and apples and squash.   

Nutrition Facts:  461.7 Calories;  19.9g Fat;  3.6g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  436g Sodium;  50.7g Carbohydrates;  10.4g Fiber;  31.2g Protein.

Today's Cooking Song of the Day:  I Believe in Symmetry - Bright Eyes.